Net zero targets could be relaxed to ease cost of living, minister signals

Press Association Political Staff

Andy Burnham’s Government could water down some of Labour’s net zero targets as it seeks to ease the cost of living, the Energy Secretary has signalled.

Miatta Fahnbulleh said her predecessor Ed Miliband’s pledge on the transition to clean power would need to take “affordability” into account.

In an interview with the Times, the Cabinet minister appeared to suggest the UK Government may relax now-Foreign Secretary Mr Miliband’s promise to almost eliminate fossil fuels from Britain’s power supplies by 2030 if it risked higher household bills.

Labour previously pledged to decarbonise the power grid by 95% by the end of this decade, mainly by building more wind and solar farms.

Any change to the timetable would also apply in Wales, where energy policy is largely reserved to Westminster, although the Welsh Government retains responsibility for many aspects of climate policy and planning.

Asked if her priority was to meet the commitment even if bills were to rise, Ms Fahnbulleh said: “In the end, my job is to do the transition in a way that works for people’s pockets.

“Candidly, my job is to keep people with us. So 81% of the public believe that renewables are a good thing and support it. I need to keep that number. And the way I do that is to say to people, we are doing the hard trade-offs to make sure that we are doing this transition in a way that still delivers affordability.”

She reportedly suggested that Mr Miliband’s clean power pledge could be delayed by one or two years if the move resulted in reduced costs for consumers, telling the paper: “We need to keep momentum (towards clean power).

“But we’ve also got to do it in a way that works for people. And that is about affordability.”

Reports have also suggested ministers are looking to water down rules on electric car sales which could mean up to half of the new cars sold would still have petrol engines by 2030.

Under current rules, 80% of new cars sold must be zero emission by the end of the decade.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to the 2030 phase out date for new petrol and diesel cars.

“It’s never been easier or cheaper to own an EV. The ZEV Mandate is backed by £7.5 billion to grow the market, boost EV manufacturing, increase sales and build up the UK charging network.

“EV sales have surged almost 45% compared with July last year, and we’ve helped over 150,000 drivers to buy through our Electric Car Grant, boosting sales whilst putting money back in people’s pockets.

“We’ve always said we’ll review the mandate to support British industry and investment. Further details will be published in due course.”

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